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Battle of Azanulbizar
The Battle of Azanulbizar, also known as the Battle of Nanduhirion or the Battle of Dimrill Dale, was the last battle in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. It was fought beneath the East-gate of Moria in the valley of Azanulbizar, called Nanduhirion in Sindarin or Dimrill Dale in Westron. History The Battle After Smaug drove the Dwarves out of Erebor in TA 2880, the battle began on a dark winter day, and no sun was said to have shined through the clouds. King Thrór, son of Dáin I, led a legion of 15,000 Longbeards, 13,000 Firebeards, 12,000 Broadbeams, 11,000 Ironfists, 8000 Stiffbeards, 7000 Blacklocks, and 6000 Stonefoots attempted to reclaim their ancestral realm in Moria. However, they soon discovered that on the western slopes above, more than 70,000 Gundabad Orcs+20,000 Gundabad Wargs, 50,000 Guldur Orcs, 30,000 Forest Goblins, and 10,000 Deep Goblins. The Orcs and Goblins were led by Azog, who was leading both races to claim treasuries of the abandoned city, and occupy it. Before going into battle, Thrór gave his son Thráin one of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves incase if he was slain. The first Vanguard led by Thráin, assaulted the slopes only to be driven back with light casualties. In a woods near the Mirrormere, the dwarves noted that Frérin, the youngest son of Thráin was slain along with Fundin, father of Bálin & Dwálin; and many others. Thraín was enraged by the lost of his son, but continued to fight. Elsewhere, the battle swayed back and forth until Náin from the Iron Hills arrived with a contingent of fresh troops. Náin and his Dwarves cut through the Orc lines until they had reached the steps of the gate, at which Naín called Azog to come out and fight. When Azog emerged from the inner gate with his guards, Náin was exhausted and half blind with rage. He tried to swing as hard as he could, but Azog darted aside and Náin missed, splintering his mattocks on the ground. The orc kicked him in the leg when he dodged the Dwarf's blow, making him stumble, at which point Azog attempted to thrust and behead him, succeeding only in breaking Náin's neck because of the strong mail he was wearing. Thrór witnessed his death, and engaged the Pale Orc in a duel to avenge Náin's death. However, Azog bested him and managed to decapitate Thrór. Thrór was witnessed by both Thráin and Thórin. Thórin witnessed his grandfather's death and attempted to avenge him, but Thráin tried to restain his son Thorin from charging towards the pale Orc and explained that Azog was tasked to wipe out the line of Durin. After ordering his son son to stay away from the deadly orc, Thráin ran a charge towards the Dimrill gate, but was injured by Azog and lost Thrór's Ring of Power before he could try. As the Dwarves were this close in losing and remained leaderless, Thorin took command of the seven armies, and fought against Azog himself. Losing his sword and shield, the dwarf prince managed to find an oak branch and used it as a shield to defend himself. Using the branch, Thórin continued to face Azog in single combat and hacking off his left arm at the elbow. Hoping to avenge his grandfather, Thórin decided to spare Azog since he saw that he was going to die anyway. He allowed the Orcs to drag the wounded Azog out of Moria. After Azog was dragged away by his subordinates, Thórin rallied his forces one last time and managed to overwhelm the enemy along with the aid of 2000 Rocs and 1000 Hill Giants that have arrived. Aftermath The Dwarves were victorious, many were slain during the battle. The Orcs and Goblins suffered even worse casualties. After the battle, Thórin wanted to enter and reclaim Moria, the ancestral home of Durin's folk. However, due to their losses, the other Houses not willing to participate, and since Dáin had seen Malraugin beyond the East-gate, Thórin refrained from entering. The Dwarves stripped their dead so the Orcs could not plunder them, and cut down all the trees in the valley, which was to remain bare ever after. They made many pyres on which to burn their dead. They could not bury them all in tombs of stone, as was their custom, because it would take too long. From then on those that died in Dimrill Dale were known proudly as Burned Dwarves. At the end of the battle, Thórin was told by several dwarves that Thráin was gone, and was one of the fallen, but Thórin refused to believe that. He spent hours searching amongst the slain to the last body, and finally realized that his father was not among the fallen. The Houses parted ways, returning to their homes to the North, East, and West. Thráin, with what was left of the Longbeard contingent, went back to Dunland and wandered in Eriador, eventually settling in the Blue Mountains. There Durin's Folk began to repopulate slowly, waiting for the day when they could take back the halls of Erebor and Khazad-dum. Category:Battles